Good starts, bad starts and even those in between have failed to yield Brad Penny anything positive for over a month now.

Penny’s outing Sunday against the Chicago Cubs leaned toward good, but the result was all the same. The right-hander lost his sixth consecutive decision in a 3-1 Dodgers defeat that might have captivated a national audience for about an hour until the Lakers and Boston Celtics tipped off.

A ratings tumble might have been appropriate, considering the Dodgers did little past the first inning when an error helped them to one of the sleepiest runs of the season.

“This has been pretty much our calling card unfortunately, although if I had my druthers I’ll take the fact that we can control the game somewhat with our pitching,” manager Joe Torre said. “To me, the only way you are going to compete and contend is to have consistent pitching.”

Juan Pierre led off the Dodgers half of the first inning with a single. He stole second base and went to third when Cubs catcher Geovany Soto threw the ball into center field. Pierre scored on Jeff Kent’s groundout.

It wasn’t like the Cubs were beating down the fences, either. Penny gave up a first-inning run of his own on a home run by Mark DeRosa. One batter later Derrek Lee hit a comebacker off Penny’s left ankle.

Noticeably hobbled, Penny held it together until the fifth inning when the Cubs went on the attack. DeRosa was at it again with an opposite-field RBI single to put the Cubs up 2-1. Aramis Ramirez followed two batters later with a run-scoring double down the left-field line.

Penny (5-8) would last just one more inning, throwing 110pitches on the night while giving up six hits to go along with his three runs. He gave up three walks with five strikeouts.

“I threw the ball pretty good and I’m starting to feel a lot better because my stuff’s there,” Penny said. “I’m getting more consistent every fifth day. I just have to go out and keep the team in the game.”

The last time Penny won a game was May 2 at Colorado when he gave up three runs over five innings. It was the last in a run of four consecutive victories. In the seven starts since, Penny has given up less than four earned runs just twice.

The good news is that those were his past two starts, so there has been progress.

There seems to be little forward movement on offense, though, as the Dodgers proceeded to feel their way around in the dark. Cubs starter Jason Marquis didn’t allow an earned run over his 6 1/3 innings and gave up just three hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

The Dodgers put together a rally in the seventh inning, during which Russell Martin hit a one-out single off of Marquis. When James Loney followed with a walk, Cubs manager Lou Piniella called on Carlos Marmol out of the bullpen.

Marmol got Matt Kemp on a strikeout before Blake DeWitt hit a roller in the hole between Cubs first baseman Lee and second baseman DeRosa. Lee made a sliding stop on the ball and threw off balance to Marmol covering at first base to get the final out of the inning.

In the eighth inning, a two-out double by Pierre and a walk to Andre Ethier brought optimism, but Kent grounded out against Marmol to end that threat and leave Penny on the hook for the defeat.

“I don’t worry about that because I can only go out and control what I can control,” Penny said about the young Dodgers offense trying to get on track. “I just have to go out and pitch and let the offense take care of itself.”

A five-run seventh inning Saturday hinted at a potential offensive breakthrough, but the Dodgers now have to see what awaiting them Tuesday at San Diego in the start of a three-game series at Petco Park, where they have been known to struggle.

In losing 12 of their past 17games, the Dodgers have scored three runs or less 11 times. On the road, they have won twice in their past 10.

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